معرفی
Seth Rockman is a Professor of History at Brown University specializing in the period between the American Revolution and the Civil War. His work sits at the intersection of slavery studies, labor history, material culture studies, and the history of capitalism.
Rockman's research interests focus on the relationship between slavery and capitalism in American history, with particular attention to material culture, labor systems, and economic development. His scholarship explores how enslaved and free laborers navigated economic systems, how material goods connected Northern manufacturers with Southern plantations, and how infrastructure shaped slave economies.
His recent publications show a trend toward examining the material dimensions of slavery, connecting infrastructure with moral, spiritual, and political challenges of the slave economy. His work increasingly bridges labor history with the history of science.
- Pulitzer Prize finalist for History (2025) for 'Plantation Goods: A Material History of American Slavery'
- Award for 'Scraping By: Wage Labor, Slavery, and Survival in Early Baltimore'
- Charles A. Ryskamp Fellowship recipient
Rockman advises doctoral students working on topics ranging from Jacksonian political economy to Atlantic slavery. He has received NEH funding for his research and has testified before the US House Financial Services Committee regarding his historical findings. He is active in the Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice and the William R. Rhodes Center for International Economics and Finance at Brown.
